


I Can't Lose You, Kid

by unreasonablestarkstan



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experiences, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark-centric, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 19:59:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19236070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unreasonablestarkstan/pseuds/unreasonablestarkstan
Summary: Peter doesn't listen to Tony, and it nearly costs him his life.Tony just wants his kid to be safe.





	I Can't Lose You, Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Set between Homecoming and Infinity War, but it doesn't really matter. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_Tuesday. 3:14 am_

Tony awoke to the distinct ringtone of his emergencies-only cell phone on the bedside table. A rush of fear swept over him before he even opened his eyes. Only two people in the world had that number, and one of them was sleeping soundly next to him.

“Peter.” Tony kept his voice low and steady, not wanting to give away the fact that he was totally panicking. “What’s up, kid?”

Any façade Tony had been holding up of calmness shattered the second he heard Peter’s terrified voice. “I screwed up so bad Mr. Stark. I…I don’t know what I was thinking, you told me not to go after him but I couldn’t just let him get away and I thought I could handle him. I’m so sorry Mr. Stark. I’m so sorry I just…”

“Peter!” Tony finally interrupted. Leave it to Peter to ramble on and on even when he was clearly in danger. “Listen to me. You need to get out of there. Now. I don’t care if he gets away.”

“I can’t let him get away, Mr. Stark!” Peter sounded frantic; he clearly wasn’t thinking straight. “The weapons he has here…it’s so much worse than we thought. I’m hiding in his lab right now, if I can just sneak up on him…”

“No. Absolutely not. You need to get the hell out right- ” Tony’s words were interrupted by the sound of an awful scream through the phone. The scream of a terrified 15 year old kid. “PETER!” Tony shouted into the phone, but it was useless. The line had gone dead.

Tony felt like he was going to be sick as he activated his nanotech Iron Man suit. He knew that Peter was usually more than capable of holding his own against the criminals and villains he fought on a nearly daily basis, but this particular asshole was different. Ex-HYDRA operative Callan Stone had been developing weapons and defenses specifically for use against known superheroes. Tony had been working on tracking him down for weeks, but he told Peter not to go after him, especially not alone. Whatever weapon Stone had presumably just used against Peter would not be a walk in the park.

His mind was racing with possibilities as he launched himself out of the hatch in the ceiling and flew towards the location Karen had shared with FRIDAY when he first answered the phone. “FRIDAY, give me an update on Spider-Man’s condition.”

“The Spider-Man suit appears to be offline, sir.”

Tony’s heart sank. That suit had to be damn near destroyed if it couldn’t connect to FRIDAY. Which meant Peter must be… No. He couldn’t even let himself think that. He just had to get to Peter as soon as possible. But it felt like it was taking forever, even though he knew he was going as fast as he could.

“Give me an ETA.”

“You should arrive in nine and a half minutes, sir.”

 _Fuck_. Anything could happen in nine and a half minutes. Every second it took him to get there was another second Peter was alone against that ruthless madman. Another second that his kid needed him and he wasn’t there.

After what felt like an eternity, Tony landed at the lab. There was no sign of Stone, and seemingly no sign of Peter either. After a few minutes of frantic searching, Tony finally spotted him half-buried in a pile of rubble. For a second he thought he was too late. Peter was completely still and he looked so small and pale and broken, so much worse than Tony had imagined. But then he started to cough, and Tony was overwhelmed with relief. _He’s alive_. He opened up his mask and knelt down next to Peter, a sense of panic rising up again when he saw the blood dripping from his lips.

“Peter...” Tony started, noting that the kid hardly seemed to be able to focus on him, “hey, Pete. It’s me. I’m getting you out of here, okay?” Tony tried to sound as calm and confident as possible, despite the fact that he was feeling exactly the opposite.

“M-mister Stark?” Peter said weakly, more blood dribbling out of his mouth as he spoke. He looked like he hardly believed that Tony was really there. The kid must have been hiding in here alone for so long before he finally decided to call. Now Tony just had to make sure it wasn’t too late.

“Yes, Peter. You’re gonna be just fine. I promise.” Tony felt like an idiot saying that when he was so terrified on the inside. But what else was he supposed to say? He had to be strong for Peter. “I’m going to pick you up now, okay? I’m sorry if this hurts.” Tony slid his arms underneath Peter, trying to be as gentle as possible as he lifted him from the rubble.

“Mr. Stark...you’re really here,” Peter said, his voice thready but oddly calm. He looked like he had given up, like he didn’t even care if he lived or died anymore. He just looked happy that he wasn’t alone.

“Of course I’m here, kid. Wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.” Tony tried to keep his tone light, but his spirit kept falling as he looked at the boy’s face. He shouldn’t be this pale. He shouldn’t look so small. And he damn well should not have blood dripping from his mouth. Tony felt overwhelmed with guilt. He didn’t know how he could have stopped this from happening, but the kid was his responsibility. Anything bad that happened to him was Tony’s fault, one way or another. He reached down and wiped some of the blood off Peter’s face. Even though this did nothing to actually heal the kid, it made it marginally easier for Tony to look at him.

Tony held Peter close to his chest as he took off for the headquarters. The boy’s head fell against his shoulder, making Tony briefly panic and think he had lost him before Peter spoke again. “You told me not to go after him. You must be so mad at me…”

Tony cut him off before he could finish, “No, kid. Not even close. Don’t you worry about that at all. I just need you to focus on breathing and staying awake. Don’t close your eyes. Can you do that for me?”

Peter took a deep, shaky breath. “I’m trying, Mr. Stark. But I’m just getting so sleepy…” His eyes began to close and Tony felt the world crashing around him.

 _Shit. This is bad._ Peter must have lost so much blood, maybe too much for even his accelerated healing factor to handle. Tony needed to get him to headquarters _now_.

“Eyes up, Pete. I need you to keep fighting. Prove to that asshole Stone that the great Spider-Man doesn’t give up easy. “

Miraculously, Peter groaned, opened his eyes, and looked up at the Iron Man mask. Tony’s heart sang with pride and relief. _This kid is going to make it. I know he will because he doesn’t have a choice._

“That’s it. Focus on me, kid.” Tony released his mask so that he could lock eyes with Peter, to make sure he stayed with him. He couldn’t get over how damn pale the kid looked. “We’re almost there. Just a couple minutes away.”

Peter looked happy to have Tony’s real face to focus on, instead of just the Iron Man mask. He seemed more determined now, more ready to fight to stay alive. “Hey, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah, kid?”

But Tony didn’t get to know what Peter was about to say. Instead, the kid’s body was once again wracked with violent coughs. His whole frame was shaking and he was making the most horrible noise Tony had ever heard. It made Tony want to scream. All he could do was hold Peter tighter and try to stabilize his body as much as possible. More blood stained Peter’s lips, contrasting starkly against his far too pale skin. When he finally stopped coughing, he looked even more exhausted and weak than before. His eyes were no longer focusing on anything, and his breathing sounded shallow and empty. But the headquarters was now in sight, and Tony would be damned if he didn’t get Peter into the med bay before it was too late.

******

Peter’s body was mostly limp by the time they flew into the med bay less than 30 seconds later. Tony came in so fast he blew the hat off Rhodey’s head when he landed. The expert team of doctors quickly took Peter out of Tony’s arms, placing him on a gurney and rushing him into an operating theater. Tony made to follow them in but Rhodey grabbed his shoulder.

“Tony. You know you shouldn’t go in there. There’s nothing you can do now.” Rhodey’s voice was gentle but stern.

“Like fucking hell I’m not going in there. I can’t leave him, he needs me. _My kid_ needs me.” Tony’s voice was finally starting to break down. He had tried to be strong for Peter but now he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Rhodey placed both hands on Tony’s shoulders and looked him square in the eyes. “Listen, Tony. Your kid needs you to let the doctors do their job. It’s already chaos in there. You don’t want to make it worse.”

Tony was silent for a moment but finally nodded. He knew Rhodey was right, he just hated to be away from Peter when he was so hurt and vulnerable. But it was for the best. Tony let out a deep breath and stepped out of the Iron Man suit, just now noticing how much his hands were shaking. Rhodey led Tony to a chair right outside the operating room and Tony practically fell into it. He held his face in his hands as hot tears began to well up in his eyes. Rhodey just looked on sadly, knowing there was nothing he could say that would make him feel better.

 _This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening._ Tony could tell himself that all he wanted, but the terrible sound of doctors shouting at each other from the operating room kept bringing him back to reality. He couldn’t stop blaming himself. He should have gotten there sooner. He should have found and neutralized Stone before Peter had any chance to go after him. He should have built better protections into Peter’s suit. Tony’s thoughts were starting to drive him crazy, but luckily Rhodey must have noticed because he sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Tony. Peter’s a strong kid. He’s going to make it.”

“You don’t know that. You didn’t see the blood…god, there was so much fucking blood,” Tony replied, his voice shaking. He could see that horrible pool of blood in his mind, and he knew it would haunt him even if Peter made it out of this alive. If he wasn’t Spider-Man, if he didn’t have his accelerated healing factor, he would have been dead long before Tony even arrived. Tony shivered at the thought.

“I know he’s a fighter,” said Rhodey, “and I think you know that, too.”

Tony nodded slowly, trying to internalize what Rhodey had said. He kept repeating the words _he’s a fighter_ to himself over and over again, a steady mantra in his mind. Panicking wasn’t going to help Peter. He had to be strong.

******

The minutes passed by like days as they waited silently for the doctors. But finally, after a few hours, a doctor stepped out of the operating room. Tony jumped to his feet and ran over to him all while holding his breath. His sense of panic was returning and he needed an answer _now_.

“He’s stable,” the doctor said, wasting no time after seeing the almost crazed look in Tony’s eyes. “He’s going to be okay.”

Tony finally let out his breath as an overwhelming wave of pure relief washed over him. He would have fallen to his knees if the doctor hadn’t reached out and caught him.

“I need to see him,” Tony said desperately. He needed to see Peter with his own eyes so he could truly believe he was okay. The past few hours of imagining all the horrible possibilities had been torture, and Tony was beyond ready to put an end to it.

The doctor nodded. “Of course, sir. Just know that he’ll be asleep for at least a couple of hours. The more rest he gets, the better.” He led Tony into the small room where Peter slept and closed the door behind him, giving them some much needed privacy.

Tony stared at Peter from across the room for a few moments. He watched the boy’s chest rise and fall, a gentle reassurance that he really was alive. He turned his gaze to Peter’s face as made his way to the chair next to the bed and sat down. Peter was still far too pale, but the blood had been cleaned from his face and he looked peaceful as he slept. Tony softly placed his hand on top of Peter’s and smiled when he felt that it was warm.

“Hey kid,” Tony breathed, using his free hand to brush some of the hair back from Peter’s face. “You scared the shit out of me, you know. I thought for sure I had lost you. I thought I was too late.” His voice was breaking just from the thought of it. He paused for a moment to listen to the steady beeping of the heart monitor; he couldn’t believe how grateful he was to hear that sound. After a few minutes he took a deep breath and whispered, “I love you, Pete.”

 

******

Tony didn’t leave Peter’s side as he slept for the next three hours. When he finally opened his eyes for the first time since they had arrived at headquarters, the first thing he saw was Tony’s concerned yet relieved face. Peter just looked confused, like he had no idea where he was.

“M-mister Stark?”

“Good morning, kid,” Tony said with a soft smile. “We’re in the Avengers HQ medbay. The doctor told me you’re going to be just fine.”

Peter blinked a few times before a look of realization washed over his face. “Oh god, Mr. Stark, you must be so mad at me. You…you told me not to go after him and I just had to be such a big dumb idiot and –“

Tony shushed him. “Peter. I’m not mad at you. You’re okay, and that’s all I care about. The only person I’m mad at is Stone.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he shot up in bed at the mention of Stone’s name. “He got away!” he exclaimed, clearly starting to panic. “He got away and he has all this horrible tech, we have to stop him!”

“Relax, Pete. Take a breath,” Tony said firmly. Panicking was the last thing Peter’s body needed right now. “Now that you’ve found his lab, he’s going to be a lot easier to track down. We’ll find him and we’ll lock him away. I promise.”

That seemed to calm Peter down a bit. He laid back against the bed and sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have listened to you.”

“You were just trying to be brave,” replied Tony. “But please, Peter, you can’t do something like that again. You can’t go throwing your life around. I’m always so worried that something is going to happen to you as it is. And then when you decide to be all reckless and unsafe…” Tony paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. “I can’t lose you, kid.”

Peter sat silently for a minute, processing Tony’s words. He _had_ been reckless. He had followed Stone back to his lab without anything resembling a plan or proper preparation. And he had gotten his ass kicked, no surprise there. Mostly thanks to the poison Stone had injected him with which dampened his powers. But it wasn’t like he was _trying_ to get hurt, he just didn’t think.

When Peter spoke, his voice was quiet and focused. “I understand, Mr. Stark. I promise I’ll be more careful.”

Tony smiled and stood up. There would be time to talk about this more later, to make sure Peter knew how important his safety was. “You must be starving, kid. I’ll go get you something to eat, anything you want.”

“Can I have a cheeseburger?”


End file.
